John b



(No Model.) 1

' ,Y J. B; SUTHERLAND.`

VALVE GEAR.

Pza/sented May 5. 1885.

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N. PETERS. Piwmmhognphnr, wnmngtan. ELC

' of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the UNITED STATES JOHhT B.SUTHERLAND, OF SYRAOUSE,

NEW Yoan, AssieNon or cnn-HALE TO GEORGE A. PORTER, OF SAME PLACE.

VALVE-GEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,475, dated May 5,1885'.

Application filed December A27, 1884` (Xo model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom, it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN B. SUTHERLAND,

State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inValve-Gear, of which the following, taken iii-,connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

In said drawings, Figures I an d II are respectively front and sideelevations of my in vention Fig. III, a top view of the bracket orpedestal which supports the moving parts of my invention. Fig. 1V is atransverse section on line X X,Fig1; and Fi g. V is avertical section ofthe slide which moves in a guide-groove in the stationary standard andsupports the rocky arm.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts. v

This invention relates to the class of steam cutoft's in which motion istransmitted from the eccentric-rod to the valve by-.means of a rock-armwhose fulcrum is movable longitudinally thereon and regulated in itsposition by the governorspindle connected directly with said fulcrum.

My invention consists in an improved construction and combination ofparts, all as hereinafter more fully described, and specifically setforth in the claims.

O represents the valve-stem, which is connected with the valve of theengine, (not shown in the drawings), and E denotes the usual leccentric-rod which receives a reciprocating motion from an eccentricattached to the driving-shaft, and usually transmits motionvto thevalve-stem by the medium ot a link or rockarm,A the latter being in someinstances mounted movably on itsfulcrnm and arranged to be controlled inits position by the engineer in charge, asis the case on locomotives,.where the link is carried by and between two eccentric-rods and slideson a fulcrum affixed to a rock-arm which transmits motion to thevalvestem. Byraising and lowering the link on its fulcrum the engineervaries the movement of the valve-stem at will. l

My invention diiiers from the aforesaid combination and arrangement ofparts, chieiy, in that the fulcrum is moved on the rock-armautomatically by the governor-spindle, thus rendering the action ot thevalve-stem self-regulating.

To accomplish this in a positive and reliablemanner, and by simple,compact, efiicient, 5 5 and'adjustable means, l rigidly secure to theengine-bed, or to some other iirm support, a bracket or pedestalconsisting of an upright plate, A, which is bolted to the support, and

a plate, A', bolted at one end to the part A, 6o

and formed with an offset to bring its free end some distance from andparallel with the plate A. The two plates A and A are each provided witha verticalslot, b, and the upper portion ot' the plate A has a groove,a', in the 65 form of a segment described from the center of the slot baforesaid. In said groove moves longitudinally a segmental slide, S, towhich is connected the valve-stem C by the medium of a link or strap,C', which is pivoted at op- 7o posite ends, respectively, on the slideand on the end of the valve-stem, as shown in Fig. I of the drawing. Onthe pin which connects the link C with the' slide is hung, by one of itsends, a rock-arm, It, which is thus connected with both the slide andvalve-stem. Said rock-arm is extended through the space between -the twoplates A A of the bracket, and has connected to its opposite end theeccentric-rod E. That portion of the rock-arm 8o which lies between theplates A A is provided with a longitudinal slot, t, and in the two slotsb b of the bracket and slot t of the rock-arm slide boxes o' r, throughwhich is extended a bolt, c, constituting the fulcrum on which therock-arm turns. To the extremities of the bolt c are attached twovertical rods, c c, which are guided and sustained in a verticalposition by one of said rods sliding in a groove, f, in the back of theupper portion of the plate Vgo A. The upper ends of the rods c c arescrewthreaded and indirectly connected with each other by a cross-bar,g, which is provided in its two ends with eyes, by which it is slippedonto the ends ot' the rods. By means of nuts u n 95 on the rods aboveand below the cross-bar the latter is sustained adjustably in itsposition and adapted to be raised or lowered as may be necessary toobtain the desired effect from the governor, presently explained.

Gr denotes a comm on steam-engine governor, which, owing to the want ofroom, is shown IOO on a reduced scale. It comprises vertically vibratorygravitating arms, which are made to swing about a vertical spindle byrotary motion, transmitted to the support of said arms from a rotaryshaft in the usual and Wellknown manner, said governor-arms beingconnected with the vertical governor-spindle G by links m m in such amanner as to cause said spindle to be moved vertically by the verticalvibration of the governor-arms, incident to the centrifugal forceproduced by their swinging movement about the governorspindle. Thegovernor being secured to a trm support above the cross-bar g,hereinbefore described, the lower end of the spindle lpasses through ahole in the saidcross-bar g, and is screw-threaded for the reception ofnuts n' n' above and below said cross-bar.

The operation of my invention is as follows: When the en gine is at restand the governorarms in their normal position, the governorspindle l isdepressed, and by the medium ofthe cross-bar g and rods c c, pushes downthe i'ulcrum e to the lower ends of the slots b b and t, respectively,of the bracket A A' and rock-arm R, the valve-stem thus being allowedits maximum stroke to freely admit steam to the cylinder when startingthe engine. As the engine gains in velocity, the governor-arms arethrown outward by the increased ccntrit'ugal force exerted on said arms,

thereby causing the governor-spindle l to draw up the fulcrum e by meansof the rods c c and cross-bar g. The aforesaid movement of said fulcrumcarries it toward that end of the rock-arm which is connected with thevalve-stem, and correspondingly increases the distance from the fulcrumto the end of the rock-arm to which the eccentric is connected, andtherefore diminishes the stroke of the valve-stem. The resultant checkof the ilow of steam to the cylinder reduces the speed of the engine,and causes the governor-arms to gradually descend until they have pushedthe governor-spindle down suiiciently to bring the fulcrum e in suchrelative position on the rock-arm as to again afford to the valve-stem astroke which prevents further reduction of the speed of the engine.

stem, andeccentric-rod, the'bracket A A', secured stationary in itsposition and, provided with the guide-groove a and slots b b, the slideS, moving in the groove a and having connected with it the valvestem,therock-arm It, connected at one end with the valve-stem, and at theopposite end with the eccentric-rod and provided with the slot t, thefulcrum e, sliding in the slots t and b b, and the governor-spindleconnected with said fulcrum, substantially as set forth and shown.

2. In combination with the governor, valvestem, and eccentric-rod, thebracket A A', secured stationary in its position and provided with thesegmental guide-groove a and vertical slots b b, the segmental slide S,moving in the groove a, the link C', connecting the valvestem with saidslide, the rock-arm It, connected at one end with the slide at theattachment of the link and having connected to its opposite end theeccentric-rod and provided with the slot 1,-the fulcrum e, sliding inthe slots t b b, and the governorspindle connected with said fulcrum,substantially as described and shown.

3. In combination with the governor, valvestem, and eccentric rod, thebracket A A', secured stationary in its position and provided with thesegmental groove a and vertical slots b b and f, the segmental slide S,moving in groove a, the link C', connecting the valvestem with theslide, the rock-arm R, connected at one end with the slide at theattachment of the link and having connected to its opposite end theeccentric-rod and provided with the slot t, the fulcrum e, sliding inthe slots t b b, the rods c c, connected at one end with the fulcrum eand guided in the groove f and screw-threaded at the opposite end, thecrossbar g, connecting the rods 0 c, nuts n n, for adjustably sustainingthe cross-bar on said rods, the governor-spindle having its endscrew-threaded and passing through the crossbar g, and nuts n' n' foradjustably connecting the governor-spindle with the said cross-bar, allconstructed and combined to operate substantially inthe manner specifiedand shown.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed l my name and aiixed myseal, in the presence roo IOS

The described action of the governor-spinl of two attcsting witnesses,at Syracuse, in the dle on the fulcrum e can be properly adjusted lcounty of Onondaga,in the State ofNewYork, by shortening or lengtheningthe connection this llth day of December, 1884.

of said parts, which is eiected by means of the nuts a n and a' n',hereinbefore described. l Having described my invention, what I y claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters ,l Patent, isi l. ln combinationwith the governor, valve- JOHN B. SUTHERLAND. [L

Witnesses: Y

STEWART WORDEN, W. F. JoNEs.

